Letter of Intent for Universities of Excellence funding line submitted along with nine full-scale applications for research clusters within the German government’s new competition

Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin are entering the Excellence Strategy competition together. On February 21, 2018, the three universities submitted their letter of intent to the German Council of Science and Humanities in Cologne. Taking note of the unique academic environment and great variety of disciplines in Berlin, they emphasize the vibrant and diverse culture of cooperation. In the Clusters of Excellence funding line, researchers from the named institutions submitted a total of nine full proposals, as invited by the German Council of Science and Humanities and the German Research Foundation (DFG) in September 2017.

The Berlin institutions see the letter of intent as the logical implementation of the cooperation for this competition that they entered into in the summer of 2016. The variety of academic disciplines in the humanities, natural and social sciences, life sciences, and engineering along with the innovative strength in Berlin can be utilized to promote cutting-edge research and make it more visible internationally. For more than ten years an increasingly comprehensive, vibrant, and diverse culture of cooperation has evolved with numerous joint research projects and more collaboration in teaching and promoting young talent as well as everyday use of shared infrastructures.

The cluster projects reflect the high degree of cooperation already in place among the Berlin institutions:

Four of the nine cluster initiatives build on existing Clusters of Excellence. The decision as to which projects will be funded will be announced on September 27, 2018. The winning clusters will then be supported for seven years beginning January 1, 2019. After that, there will be an opportunity to apply for a second funding period.

The decision in the Universities of Excellence funding line will be announced on July 19, 2019. The winning universities will receive funding for seven years beginning November 1, 2019. After seven years and a successful evaluation, they can receive funding for another seven years.